About me

My name is Amy and I've been blogging on CDG since 2005. A mama of two living in Colorado, I'm passionate about attachment parenting, health and wellness, green living, essential oils, urban homesteading and unschooling/home schooling.

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Never a recall on breastmilk

I know not everyone can breastfeed, but the fact that breastmilk will never be recalled is just another reason why I feel good about my choice to do so. That’s one less thing this mama (who’s already lost too many brain cells) has to worry about. ;)

Hm. Seems someone isn’t brave enough to post their thoughts under their real name. Glad we don’t have that problem. (Doesn’t seem too educated either, since they don’t know how to spell Nazi. Do they even know what a Nazi is???) Feel free to delete this post Amy, since you may not want this on your blog. I totally understand. I just couldn’t NOT reply, KWIM?

I’ve never commented here before, but I have to chime in on this. I agree that the anonymous poster above didn’t state their feelings very eloquently – well, they didn’t really state their feelings at all, if you get right down to it. However, I think I know where the gut reaction came from, because I am one of those moms who couldn’t breastfeed, despite my very best efforts. I bf my first son until he self-weaned at 9 months, and it was one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life, and I honestly couldn’t wait to bf my second son and was looking forward to it from the moment I found I was pregnant. Fast forward to his arrival 6 weeks early and subsequent 4-week stay in the NICU. I pumped like crazy, nursed him as much as I could while he was in the hospital, and did everything I could to nurture a successful nursing relationship after he came home. But despite weekly visits to the lactation consulant (for 9 weeks straight), tons and tons of pumping, fenugreek, and 3 weeks of Reglan, we finally switched to formula when he was almost 6 months old.

I was, and still am, devastated by this, and resentful that I have to feed him formula. And I know full well that because of our struggles, I’m oversensitive when it comes to this issue, and a little defensive, as well. And maybe that’s why this post rubbed me the wrong way – something about it just projected an air of superiority, which made me feel like I’m a crap mother for not bf my child. I don’t think for a moment that you intended it that way – I’ve been reading your blog for a while, and you never come across that way at all. But like I said, I’m oversensitive and this is a real touchy issue for me, as it may be for “anonymous.”

Not trying to defend a commenter who wasn’t very respectful of you, but at the same time, I think that sometimes people’s emotions get the better of them, especially when it comes to issues that deal with them trying to do the best they can for their kids, and I just wanted to possibly offer some insight into why someone might have been hurt and reacted poorly to what you wrote.

Anyway, I like reading your blog, I admire your dedication to issues that you’re passionate about, and I hope that the rest of your pregnancy goes well :)

foxymom – you have a right to express your opinion just as anonymous did. i’m not deleting anything. i do prefer that people comment respectfully on my blog, but i can’t control everything.

michelle – first off, welcome. :) i appreciate your well-thoughtout and respectful response. i apologize if i came across like i thought i was superior. you are right in that it wasn’t my intention. i appreciate the reminder though that this can be a very sensitive issue for some.
i have a few friends/aquaintances who were unable to bf their child(ren) and honestly can’t imagine having to go through that myself. i pumped my milk for about 2 months to give to one of those aquaintances for her youngest child. i felt like it was the least i could do.
i think it shows amazing dedication that you were able to pump for your son (and try everything you could) for as long as you did. i hope you are able to make peace with yourself that you did your very best.

No need to apologize. I know you didn’t intend to hurt anyone. I think that part of dealing with this, for me, is to talk about my experience, so in a way, writing out this response to you was helping me to work through my feelings – not that that’s what your blog is for lol, but I appreciate you tolerating it :) Thanks for your encouraging words, too.